# Ogden's Walnut Flake



## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Walnut Flake is an Old School British Virginia/Burley Flake. Used to be one of my go-to tobaccos in the good old days; the lastest batch isn't quite as good in my opinion. Short and narrow ragged flakes of mid/dark brown colour with flecks of lighter and darker in it. Rubs out easily, packs easily; perfect humidity straight from the pack (two rows of flakes in a small foil sealed plastic tray in a pouch) - but I don't ever feel the need to dry tobacco. Lights easily but is prone to needing relights. It's definitely nutty and with the name being what it is, you can easily imagine walnuts. I understand that the name stems from the colour of the flakes, not any intentional flavouring, but psychosomatic or not, it's there. Quite dry and woody, so the nuts are obviously still in their shells. The burley bitterness (just a touch) adds to the effect. I'm sure that this flake used to be more oily and stronger (On reflection, I'm positive - darker too). Still an iron fist in a velvet glove; a lot of nicotine. Very cool and VERY slow burning - it used to be a favourite with old duffers due to its economy. The initial impression is that this is a Lakeland blend with all that implies, but it isn't. Some of the casing elements are clearly similar, but this is not floral beyond what the tobaccos themselves bring and precious little of that. This is driven by the tobaco, not the casing and certainly not any topping. I'm struggling to make comparisons. Maybe St Bruno, but lighter and nuttier and without the fruity notes. An austere tobacco, nothing like Edgeworth which has recently been discussed (and is definitely the best burley blend ever made...), but has the same "hair-shirt, straight tobacco" qualities. The nutty flavours and overall strength increases through the bowl but the overall nature is uniform, no one element pushing itself forward. 

"Very fine indeed."


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## Tobias Lutz (Feb 18, 2013)

Nice review- I did a quick search for this but only found it on UK websites. Am I to assume it isn't available through US retailers? It sounds quite tasty.


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## Nachman (Oct 16, 2010)

It is not available stateside but can be ordered from mrsnuff. If I were going to pay that kind of price for tobacco I think I would order the Murray's Warrior Plug, but "De gustibus, ne gustibus non dispuntatur." Concerning likes and dislikes there is no dispute. Maybe Steinr1 can weigh in on which he prefers.


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Nachman said:


> It is not available stateside but can be ordered from mrsnuff. If I were going to pay that kind of price for tobacco I think I would order the Murray's Warrior Plug, but "De gustibus, ne gustibus non dispuntatur." Concerning likes and dislikes there is no dispute. Maybe Steinr1 can weigh in on which he prefers.


Strangely enough, the jar that the Walnut Flake is in was just previously occupied with Warrior Plug, finished off yesterday.

Both are good, quality tobaccos. Which do I prefer? I think that the honours go to the Walnut Flake. Although not as good as its previous incarnations, it is the better balanced and integrated blend to my taste. In the Warrior Plug, the burley is sweeter and fruitier perhaps, but also lends an unbalanced level of bitterness more easily; with Walnut Flake it is hard to provoke excess bitterness from the burley. I'm in no doubt about the constituents of Warrior Plug, but the Walnut Flake is smooth and very well integrated - difficult to discern the components as separate from the whole, which to my mind is often the sign of a great blend. It's also easier to manage physically and, in my experience, burns cooler and MUCH slower. I mentioned that Walnut Flake is a rather austere tobacco - Warrior Plug is not. I make the comparison between a dry, austere, traditional "British Luncheon Claret" and a forward, fruit driven, New World "Meritage Blend" wine. Keep the Mondavi; I'll take the Cissac. À chacun son goût...

Also, I've got some Walnut Flake and no Warrior Plug. Walnut Flake is *SO* much better than no Warrior Plug.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Is there a stateside semi-equivalent? Pretty much all the drug store, codger burleys are relatively wimpy, so I guess you'd have to hit the McClelland bulks or something. 

Nice review, Robert! :tu


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## Nachman (Oct 16, 2010)

Probably the closest you can get stateside is JackKnife Plug but St Bruno is closer. The closest you can get to Warrior Plug would be Peterson's Perfect Plug.


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